I gave up on pots, pans, fuel, cleanup, stove, etc. Go lighter.
I'm constantly bouncing back and forth between freezer bag cooking (for dinner only) and going cold.
On my last trip 2 weeks ago from Kearsarge to Portal, I decided to go cold once more since I was out only 2 nights (once below Forester and the next night @ Crabtree RS).
Like you, I take my own mix of nuts, dried fruit and caramel/chocolate. As you say, no one ever starved to death in 5 days (or less).
However, like usual, I regretted not having a hot meal at night. To make matters worse (from a "stupid light" perspective), I have a Caldera cone + Ti pot that weigh a combined 10oz. A few esbit fuel tabs weigh maybe another oz. (I an get two boils out of 1 tab.)
My hot meal of choice are 3-4 cups of ramen dumped into a single freezer bag that amounts to almost 1,000 calories. Even better, the super sodium hot water mix is a great sleep inducer + warmth enhancer.
I've got a short trip up Shepherd to Wallace/Wales lake at the end of July, but this time I'm taking my cooking system.
